The development of agro-industries is
vital to economic planning and progress in many countries. Depending on the
productivity, these products can be exported to neighboring countries. Instead
of exporting raw crops it is economically more viable to promote the export of
processed food products such as fruits, vegetables, marine food, and some other
agro-based industries such as the floriculture and herbal products.

Although the direct value addition and
employment generation in the food processing sub-sector of the manufacturing
sector is relatively low, it has a greater degree of indirect effects as the
agricultural production has a greater degree of linkages with other sectors of
the economy. In Pakistan of the total export earnings, the share of primary
commodities and processed and semi-processed products constitute almost 60% of
the total exports. There have been some structural changes over time, but the
contribution of agro-based products has more or less sustained its position.

In Pakistan food products have a latent
potential to earn a major chunk of foreign exchange as some countries are vastly
relying on imported edibles. For instance Libya imports 75% of edibles to
accomplish its domestic demand. Cultivation and processing of food are the best
opportunities to pursue at the present scenario so as to broaden the export base
and accelerate economic growth. These industries are likely to open new vistas
of poverty alleviation, employment generation, and improved levels of income.

Food processing industry can have a
value added contribution which tends to increase with the level of urbanization
and development. If Pakistan produces and exports a greater proportion of
cereals such as rice, wheat and maize the value added by the grain mills will be
relatively high as in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. This in turn increases
the contribution of the food processing industries to the national economy.
There is a wave of food crisis across the globe. Prevailing high prices of
agricultural commodities suggest that to enhance earning potential of the
farmers Pakistan should focus on modernizing agriculture sector with greater
emphasis on crop diversification and its value chains so as to enhance exports.

Different areas in Punjab, Balochistan
and Sindh are suitable for cultivation of tropical, temperate and sub tropical
fruits. More than 30 varieties of fruits are produced in different climatic
zones of the country; major among them being citrus, mango, date, apple and
banana. While some other fruits like guava, apricot, peach, pear, plum, grape,
pomegranate and almonds are also grown. But only a small fraction of these are
exported due to lack of storage facilities. The best quality fruits are exported
as fresh fruits. Grading and packing of fresh fruits help maintain fruit
quality, which increase their prices. The major operational activities in this
process include sorting, washing, waxing, drying, grading and packing. The
exporters, who do not have 'in-house' processing facilities, obtain fresh
processed fruits from processing plants. Although, fresh fruit processing plants
provide an opportunity to target international customers and exporters directly,
proper attention is not being given to this area. There is a need to boost the
grading/packing industry for all major fruits.

Fisheries and aquaculture are an
important source of food, employment and revenue in Pakistan. Seafood include
tuna, mackerel, shrimp, prawns, molluscs, lobsters, crabs and barnacles etc. The
fishing grounds in Pakistan are termed as highly rich in marine life with a
large number of species that have great commercial value. Pakistan's consumption
of fish is very low, and thus most of the produce is exported. However, there is
a great dependence on a few species for exports, with very little value
addition. Marine food exports are 71% of total fish exports.

2-
Effective development and promotion of the special economic zones and export
processing zones

3-
Improvement in the transportation and storage methods, transportation time and
sanitation of storage facilities

4-
Access to international negotiations, establishment of inquiry points and
contact points in WTO to promote participation of Pakistan in multilateral
negotiations

5-
Balanced development of centralized quality control system and competitive
market system for export

6-
Pakistan needs to improve hygiene and environmental conditions in handling fish
and its products to increase its share in EU and Japanese markets

7-
Crop diversification experiments in major agriculture producing countries, for
instance crops for bio-fuel, suggest that Pakistan could also benefit from
favorable global prices

8- The
government should provide incentives to the private sector for storage
development which is critical to price stability. Adequate support to develop
private marketing channels for greater competition should be provided. Small
farmers should be provided greater access to credit to improve their
productivity

9-
Periodic government intervention to hedge against extreme price volatility
should continue

10-
The prevalent system of general subsidies, which leads to leakage of benefits to
the non-deserving people, should be replaced by targeted subsidies to poor and
indigent consumers

CONCLUSION

In spite of being an agrarian economy
and having 65% of the population directly or indirectly involved in agriculture
Pakistan is still importing food items. Pakistan's rising imports include milk
and milk products, meat, vegetables, wheat, dry fruits, tea, spices, edible oil,
sugar and pulses. With the exception of tea, the country can produce the entire
range of these commodities. Pakistan would have been converted into a food
basket for foreigners provided that right policy directions had been adopted by
the authorities. Pakistan can become an exporter of the foodstuff if the
government concentrates on agriculture, does not repeat past mistakes, and takes
new initiatives particularly on two sub-sectors i.e. horticulture and livestock.